Kidnapped
by krossfire
Summary: Rhonda's been kidnapped, her parents are extremely worried, the authorities aren't helping much, and Arnold, Gerald and Nadine seeks help from Bridget.
1. The Kidnapping

_Preface: _Again, another new fanfic from me, and again it evolves around Rhonda. I don't know why, but I can make up a story easily when it involves her than therest of the girls in the Hey Arnold show. Maybe because of my disdain for rich, snooty people that pushes all my creative gears to work :). I was ready to take my nap the other day when this idea suddenly popped into my mind. But I kept thinking about it, decided to cancel my nap and got up to start working it. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 1: The Kidnapping.

**I**t was Friday, and five more minutes until school's out for the day. Inside Mr. Simmons' class, everybody, including Phoebe was bored out of their skulls listening to Mr. Simmons' lecture about the Andes Mountain range. Harold tried to keep his eyes awake by stretching them out as he gazed at the wall clock above the blackboard, while stretching his arms wide, hugging the table. He felt like that the universe just imploded and time, what's left of it, gone forever and could no longer served its purpose. He watched the second hand slowly… slowly ticked away a second at a time, while not paying attention to Mr. Simmons' droning.

Tick…

Tick…

Tick…

He could die of waiting. He scanned around the classroom, and saw his friends, more or less, trying to endure the boredom. Arnold put his elbow on the table as he rested his head on his palm, trying to comprehend what Mr. Simmons was trying to tell them. Gerald slouched to the back of his chair, not trying to look interested. Helga, to kill time, spitted out some spitwads to Arnold, as he tried to ignore the projectiles that landed on the back of his head. Phoebe played with her thumbs, Rhonda and Nadine was seen exchanging notes, Sid was banging his head softly on the table, while Stinky was drumming his fingers in total boredom. Lorenzo repeatedly glanced at his watch, Lila was playing with her braids, Eugene was nearly asleep, Sheena tried to concentrate on the board, but couldn't, and Curly was pulling his hair out in agony.

Tick…

Tick…

Wham!

And the bell rang, and there was much rejoicing in class. Everybody was back to their cheerful mood again. They quickly packed their things and head out from the classroom. "Oh, wait class. Wait a second…" Mr. Simmons halted them, "remember class, please make sure you do your geography project, and have a pleasant weekend!" he waved at them, but the kids ignored him as they dashed out from the class. As they walked out from school, Gerald went over to Arnold and began a conversation with him.

"Hey Arnold," He greeted, "Aw man, I thought the weekends would never come."

"Yeah, it has been a slow week for me too." Arnold replied.

"How 'bout we blow the rest of the day off at the arcades, or watch a movie or… or play baseball with the guys?"

"I think we should take a vote first Gerald, see what the other guys think."

"Gotcha." Gerald replied, winked at him, clicking his tongue while pointing at him. They continued their journey to the bus stop as they saw Rhonda bragging about her new clipped pearl earrings, _again, _to her friends as they look at her in irritation, but she couldn't see past their annoyance as she continue to boast about them.

"Daddy brought me these new pair of _expensive _earrings yesterday. They look exquisite, don't you think?" she said as she rubbed the earrings, glistering and glimmering under the sun. The girls looked at her in annoyance. Helga felt she wanted to punch her. Rhonda continued to rub one of her earring, but suddenly she accidentally pulled it out. She then glanced at it for a while, and fastened it back on one of her ear.

"I get that your mom won't let you pierce your ears." Helga smirked at her.

"She said I'm not old enough, probably next year." She said back angrily as she adjusted the earring.

The boys, being new and alien to jewelry wearing and all, were looking at the crowd of girls in curiosity.

"Stupid girly stuff." Harold bellowed out.

"Yeah," Sid concurred, "why do they even bother wearing those things anyway?"

"I dunno." Gerald shrugged. "But my bro wears those things."

"C'mon fellas," Stinky said to snap them back, "forget those things and lets concentrate on our agenda. I's say we all play ball after this." The proposal was greeted with unanimous nods and agreements from the guys. "So we meet at the usual place then, Geraldfield?" Arnold asked to them.

"Where else but the greatest place in the world?" Gerald intervened with a grin across his face.

The bus eventually came, and the kids lined up in front of the door. Far away from them, under the elevated highway, there were some strangers inside of a van, looking at the group of kids observantly as they boarded the bus.

"Should we go now?" one of them asked.

"Are you nuts? There's too many of them… and too many witnesses."

"Now what?"

"We follow the bus until that kid got out and she's alone by herself. Then we begin our operation." The person then turned around and looked at another person behind him, as he sat leaning back against a motorcycle.

"Looks like we have to use Plan B after all."

---

Back inside the bus, after they deposited the fare, the kids took their seats. Like always, Gerald would always sit with his best friend, Arnold, while Helga and Phoebe was the same too. Sid, Stinky and Harold grouped themselves together as they talk things that you would expect from a fourth grader. Rhonda meanwhile, excused herself from Nadine for a while and walked over to Arnold.

"Hey, Arnold," she greeted, "like my new earrings?" she displayed the earrings to him by turning her head left and right as she smiles.

"It's…" he didn't know what to say, "pretty nice." He could only say.

"Pretty?" she echoed back sardonically, smiling softly. She was expecting a better reply.

"Uh… uh…" he hesitated, trying to find a more suitable word, "Very. Very nice." He smiled back nervously, snickering softly.

She could only giggle at him, "Well, Geography Buddy, I suppose we should talk about our geography project later after this."

"Uh… Rhonda, I kinda have plans after this." He tried to decline, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, Rhonda." Gerald interjected, "We're playing baseball after this."

"Oh come on, it won't take long. I assure you, it won't take more than an hour. And after that, you can waste your time with your guy buddies."

"Can't we just do this tomorrow?"

"Aw, you know me. I hate doing my homework during the weekends." She whined, "Besides, the public library is closed tomorrow."

Arnold shook his head, and finally caved in to her plea, "All right. All right, you win. See you inside the library at three."

"I knew you would understand!" she exclaimed happily as she threw a fist across her body, "Ciao, Arnold." She said sweetly as she waved her fingers and walked away at him, a moved that angered Helga a lot.

"Oh, great…" she mumbled to herself. "First there's Ruth, Lila, Summer and now _her_." She muttered quietly through her clenched teeth, which was accidentally heard by Phoebe.

"She's only his geography partner Helga." Phoebe reasoned to her, "I doubt that they will become more than just that…"

"Always expect the worst, Pheebs. Always expect the worst." She said as she glared with her murderous eyes at Rhonda, who was talking to Nadine right now.

_"I swear that your blind jealousy sometimes irks me a lot Helga…"_ Phoebe thought, as she looked at her.

---

After spending more than an hour inside the library searching for information regarding their project, they now both feel that they had collected enough of them and decided to call it a day. As they walked out, Arnold stopped at his tracks at the sidewalk, and frantically searching his backpack for something.

"Something wrong?" Rhonda asked him.

"Darn… I forgot my pencil case." He explained to her, still not going back into the library. "I must've left it at the table."

"And why are you looking at me for? It's not like I have your pencil case with me."

"I don't know." He replied worriedly, "I feel like something bad is going to happen."

"Oh, don't be such a silly, Arnold!" she replied amusingly. "I appreciate you being chivalrous and all that, but don't worry, I'll be fine by myself." She said to him, firmly holding his shoulder to give assurance.

"How about if you walk me in? We can find it together."

"Arnold..." she replied in amused disbelief of her friend.

"But—"

"Just go!" Rhonda said jovially as she pointed to the library doors. In reluctance, he went back into the library, hastening his pace, as Rhonda waited for him outside the library. As she waited, a motorcyclist came over to her, possibly to ask directions. The motorcyclist was riding a Japanese motorcycle, wearing a black colored helmet that completely obscures his face for Rhonda to recognize and plain everyday clothes.

"Hey kid," the person said, muffled under the helmet, "could you show me the way to the City Hall?"

"Oh, just go straight ahead six blocks and— mmmpphh!!" somebody clasped her mouth tightly from behind. She dropped her books in shock. The motorcyclist quickly jumped out from his bike and assisted the assailant by grabbing both of her hands and forced them behind her, locking it. She couldn't turn around to see the person behind her because the kidnapper was holding her head. Another person came over to them and put a blindfold and gagged her with some cloth and duct tape. She tried to struggle to set herself free, but it was futile because she was too weak. She tried to scream, but the only thing that came out from her mouth was a muffled, weak scream that would never grab one's attention. In midst of the resisting, one of her earring was accidentally dropped off.

The kidnappers were trying desperately to quell her down as they scanned the area around nervously for any onlookers and witnesses. After she was bound with duct tape on both of her arms and legs, one of the kidnappers held her up by the body while the other held her up by her legs. Still, she tried to resist and scream. Both of them quickly carried over her to the van and put her in. Rhonda tried one last act of resisting by kicking one of the kidnappers with her tied legs. One of her shoes were detached from her feet and landed on the sidewalk. The person on the motorcycle signaled them off, took her books to dispose the evidence away, ran over to the motorbike and quickly rode away from the area. The kidnappers then quickly went into the van, started the engine, floored the gas pedal down and flee.

Minutes later, Arnold came out from the library, but Rhonda wasn't there waiting for him. This was very unusual for her since she would always notify the person she wanted to leave first.

"She must've left." He shrugged. Realizing he was late for the ballgame with the guys, Arnold felt he should continue on and worry about her later. As soon as he took his first step, he felt that he step on a strange object. He stopped at his tracks, lifted his leg and saw an earring. He then picked it up to examine it.

"This looks like one of Rhonda's earring…" he said to himself as he gazed at the jewelry, rotating it. He began to suspect something was not right. He scanned around, and saw something at the corner nearby the curb. It was a red shoe that was really similar to Rhonda's shoes. He began to worry. Without wasting any more time, he hurriedly went to the public phone and call Rhonda's house.

"Lloyds residence." A person answered with a thin Jersey accent, probably one of the butlers.

"Is Rhonda there?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm sorry sir," the butler politely replied, "but young Ms. Lloyd isn't home from the library yet."

_"There's _definitely_ something is not right here." _He thought assumingly. Without putting the receiver back, he then quickly raced to Rhonda's house, just a couple of blocks away from where he was now. The receiver swung back and forth, with the line on the other side still active.

"Hello? Hello?" he took the receiver away from his ears and looked at. The butler shrugged, and put the receiver down.

"Bob, who was that on the phone?" Buckley Lloyd asked his butler, as he walked into the living room.

"I don't know sir," he replied, "It's probably one of Miss Lloyd's friends."

---

The bell to the Lloyd's residence was rang repeatedly and frantically, and alerted the butler who was cleaning the living room. He dusted himself up, adjusting his tie a little bit and headed to the front door. The door opened, revealing a boy panting and gasping for air as he looked up at him.

"Beat it, kid." He said, "Rhonda's not—"

Arnold ignored him and quickly he dashed into the house as he shoved the butler away. The butler nearly fell, but managed to regain his balance back by propping a table behind him. As he got up, he saw the kid who shoved him away just now quickly ran into the living room, shouting "Mr. Lloyd, Mrs. Lloyd— anyone!! I want to speak to you!!"

Buckley who was at the dinner table reading the business section of the newspaper was surprised at the unexpected visitor as he saw him running to him as if a lion were chasing him. He recognized that face, but never caught his name but could assume he was one of Rhonda's friends. Buckley could identify his face because he once saw him at one of his daughter's party. "Mr. Lloyd, I have something— hey!! Let go off me!!" he shouted at Bob the Butler, as he tried to grab him to kick him out from the house.

"Bob, Bob…" Buckley said calmly, motioning his hand. "Release him. He probably has some pressing matters to talk about." In defeat, Bob released Arnold and walked away from the kitchen, leaving Arnold and Buckley alone. Arnold was very weary and tired, breathing heavily and was very sweaty because he had run all the way from the library to Rhonda's house. Sensing that it was important, Buckley spared the formalities and went straight to the point.

"Now son, what can I do for you?"

"I don't know sir," he replied worriedly, huffing and puffing. "Rhonda was waiting for me in front of the library for me to get my things, but by the time I got back, she was gone."

Buckley lowered a half of her eyebrow in startled worrisome, "gone? What do you mean, gone?"

"H-here, I'll show you some things I found at the sidewalk." He then opened his backpack up, rummaged through it and took something out from the bag and handed it over to Buckley.

"This is one of Rhonda's earrings I gave to her yesterday." Buckley said, examining the jewelry.

"That's not all," Arnold quickly added, and showed him the red shoe.

"Why, that's one of Rhonda's shoe." By now he was completely perplexed, and becoming really restless. "What are you trying to tell me, son?"

The conversation was cut short when the phone suddenly rung. Buckley and Arnold hoped not for the worst as they look at each other. Slowly, he got up from his seat and went over to the phone. He gulped in anticipation, lifted the receiver slowly and placed it on his right ear.

"H-hello?" He answered gravely.

"We have your daughter." A garbled, synthesized, computerized voice replied, "We'll call you back at exactly an hour. No police." The line was cut off, and engaged tone was heard. Buckley felt he wanted to faint, and scared of the wellbeing of his daughter in the hands of those kidnappers. He looked at Arnold in grave disbelief, fearful of what they would do to her precious child. No time to lose, he quickly restarted the phone and call an old friend of his.

"Is Detective Spade there?"

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New chapters will be up, but I don't know when since I'm currently writing two fanfics right now and two is already a handful. Just be patient, and I promise I'll update. Like this one? Well, give a review. 


	2. Ransom

Author's Note: Thought I'd never update, didn't you? :) Well, sorry for the delay, because I wanted to finish my "Curly Snaps, Again" fanfic first, because I just can't burden myself to write three fics at a time. And this is **_not _**an Arnold/Rhonda fic, despite the chemistry between them in the first chapter. This story has nothing to do with romance, since I'm terrible at writing that particular genre. (Edit: I accidentally replaced the first chapter with this one, sorry)

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 2: Ransom

Somewhere in an abandoned factory in the industrial district, the van and the motorcycle that followed it stopped inside of the said building. The driver and the passengers got out from their seats and went to the sliding door so they could let Rhonda out. The motorcyclist too, gave them a helping hand. But as soon as one of the kidnappers opened the door, he was kicked in the stomach by Rhonda, still bounded and gagged. He held his stomach in agony as his other cohorts tried to bring her out.

"Man this girl can fight!" said one of them as they were struggling to hold to the very persistent Rhonda. Her muffled shouts didn't do any good for her.

"Where's the boss?" one of them asked.

"Hold on, I'll get him." said a tan-skinned woman, and she went off entering a room nearby.

"Hold on?!" blurted a light-skinned man angrily. "I have enough of this kid! Put her in that closet over there!" He pointed to a janitorial closet nearby.

"Are you nuts?!" a dark-skinned man protested, "She'll suffocate inside!"

"That's quite enough, all of you!" a voice boomed, startling them. "You hear the man, Joey. She'll suffocate inside, so don't try anything stupid. And because of that, I'm not putting you in charge of taking care of the girl. Kevin," he said to the dark-skinned man, "you take care of the girl, since you're good with kids and stuff."

"What?!" Kevin shouted, "I never said—"

"Do as what I said, or you won't get your share." The light-skinned man argued back, presumably their boss. "Let's go inside, Rachel. I think someone is expecting a call from us."

---

"I'm… very, very sorry Mr. Lloyd…" Arnold apologized guiltily, "I shouldn't have left her alone…"

Mr. Lloyd looked deeply at the boy morosely. He then put a hand on his shoulder and said, "It's alright. It's not your fault…" he replied sullenly. He then shifted his head to look behind him and saw the police setting up equipment, such as recorders, tracers, and whatnot around the phone inside the dining room. Mrs. Brooke Lloyd was just informed of her daughter's absentee and hastily she went home to join with his husband. She threw herself into his husband's arm tightly as he embraced her to console her down as she shed tears down her eyes. "Rhonda… my dear… sweet Rhonda…" she cried miserably.

"Buckley, all the equipment has been set, and we're expecting for the kidnapper to call back anytime now." The somewhat short, dark-skinned, Detective Spade said to him.

Buckley nodded softly while still consoling her and said to him, "thank you… I'll get ready." He then shifted his eyes to Arnold and said to the detective, "Please send the boy back to his house… I don't want him to happen just like my daughter…"

Detective Spade nodded softly and called someone, "Pudney," and Officer Pudney came to him and saluted him, "I want you to send this kid back to his house safely. We don't want him to end up like the girl."

'Yes sir." She replied, and she then turned her face at Arnold, "C'mon kid. Let me send you home."

Arnold nodded softly and followed her to one of the parked squad car outside. As she was driving, she felt that she should lighten the mood up a bit by talking with the boy, just to calm him up. She started the conversation by asking him his name.

"So… you have a name, kid?" she asked.

"Arnold." He replied sullenly.

"I'm Officer Pudney." she introduced herself. "Where do you live?" she asked again, but Arnold was reluctant to answer back. "C'mon, you can trust me; I'm a cop. 'Sides, I don't even know where the heck I'm going right now."

"4040 Vine Street." He finally replied, and Officer Pudney smiled a little bit.

"That old boarding house?" she asked again. Arnold nodded. "I like that building. They don't make buildings like that nowadays." She continued. Arnold smiled a bit. She noticed that Arnold was still unhappy. She tried some more. "What's eating you Arnold? I'll be unhappy too if you're still keeping being miserable like that. C'mon, you can your tell your aunt Pudney _all_ your problems." She said cheerfully, in hoping that Arnold too, would at least cheer up a bit. "Wanna play with the siren?" she then switched the police siren on for a moment, and switched it off back. "C'mon, it's fun!"

Arnold wasn't so sure whether he should open up to her or not. But a after a while after much contemplation, he decided to tell her, "Rhonda—"

"That kidnapped girl? She's a friend of yours right?"

"Yeah… it was my fault. We were at the library at that time when she got kidnapped. I shouldn't have left her when I had the chance. But I did, and now she's gone…"

She felt sorry for him for being somewhat responsible. She pondered a while to gain answer, "Hey… it's not your fault Arnold." She said to ease Arnold's guilt a bit. "These things can happen in so many circumstances and in so many conditions, so try not to blame it onto you. It's not healthy."

Arnold nodded weakly, but still he felt guilty that it was his fault Rhonda's been kidnapped. The Officer took a glance at him and lost on words to say anything. Softly, she said to him, "How about we listen to the radio, huh? That'll ease you up a bit." She then switched the radio on, which the station was currently telling the up-to-date news.

"-Are now listening to KPHW, the city's No.1 radio station. And now, a quick recap of this week major news, courtesy of ABS Radio." the announcer said. "The FTi Corporation nearly filed a Bankruptcy Notice yesterday when almost three quarters of its assets were frozen due to their former CEO Alphonse Perrier De Von Scheck was found guilty of destroying an official government document, unlawful deceit, and practicing hostile management. In a bold, surprise move, a small Hillwood-based monetary firm wishes to acquire the company thus saving thousands of employees from unemployment. But due to an old local city law, the monetary firm, which is yet to be revealed, must pay five percent of the takeover bid worth about $600 million dollars by the end of the week from when the offer was proposed for the first time or the firm will have no chance to acquire or propose any bids again. In an unrelated news—"

She quickly pushed the 'Scan' button the change the frequency, thinking that the news about the business world wouldn't entertain a nine year old kid. "Let's just leave the business world to the guys in suit, shall we?" she said warmly, and continued, "I think you're gonna like this song." She said, smiling. She too, liked the music was playing because it was very catchy, but then she sensed something was not right. She tried to listen to the song more attentively. To her shock, she heard some profanities being said and quickly she switched off the radio, since the song wasn't appropriate for Arnold.

"Jeez, what are they feeding you kids these days?" she murmured angrily to herself, as Arnold rolled his eyes at her. The squad car drove on, through the road and narrow streets, until its eventual arrival at the boarding house. She turned the engine off, and escorted Arnold to the front door. "Arnold, I need to talk with your parents. Is that okay with you?" she asked.

"My parents are gone." Arnold replied to her.

"_Oh dear… you poor kid…" _Officer Pudney thought to herself in shock. That was a very inconsiderate question she asked him. "I'm sorry…" she said sullenly, "so who's taking care of you?"

"It's okay officer, I get that lots of times. My grandparents and the boarders are taking care of me now. They maybe eccentric, but they're family." Arnold smiled softly. Officer Pudney smiled back, and said to him, "So it's okay for me to talk to with them, isn't it?"

"Yeah, go ahead." Arnold shot back a beam, and Officer Pudney finally rang the bell to the door. Inside, Grandpa Phil and Oskar was watching a daytime television talk show.

"She should've left that bum." Oskar said to grandpa, referring to a deadbeat in the show, which ironically to grandpa sounded a lot like Mr. Kokoshka's life. They both heard the bell rang, but they didn't budge from their seat. The bell rang once more. "Oskar, go get the door will you?" Phil said to him.

"Oh but grandpa, my legs are tired and my butt is asleep." He whined, "Why don't you go get the door and grab me a Yahoo while you're at it?"

"You get the door Oskar or I'll double your rent next month!" Phil delivered his ultimatum as glared while pointing his finger at him. Reluctantly, Oskar got up as he grumbled incoherently and went over to the door. To his shock and horror, a police officer stood in front of him, beaming at him.

"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE GAMBLING DEN!!" he shouted abruptly in fear, and immediately he slammed the door. Hastily and scared that he would get caught, he then fled to the backdoor of the boarding house. Officer Pudney and Arnold exchanged a baffled gaze at each other and shrugged.

"Oskar, who the heck is it?" Phil asked him from the living room as Oskar ran through the house.

"It's for you grandpa!" he shouted as he slammed the backdoor. Grandpa rolled his eyes and grudgingly he got up from his seat. He opened the door and saw his grandson with a police officer. "So that's why he ran away…" Phil mused to himself.

"Is this your grandson, sir?" Officer Pudney asked Phil.

He decided to be playful with them, "Why yes, yes he is Officer. Is he in trouble or something? Because I have a good lawyer and—"

She chuckled a bit, "No, no. Nothing like that, sir. Do you know the Lloyds, sir?"

"What, those rich family that their daughter is my grandson's friend?" he glared playfully at Arnold, "What did you do to her, Arnold?" he demanded jokingly.

"Nothing, I—" Arnold replied, but was interjected by the Officer yet again.

"Nah, he didn't do anything to her. You see, she got kidnapped—"

"You _kidnapped _her?!" he accused Arnold.

"Uh, no sir." Officer Pudney replied, staring to become annoyed. "Their daughter was kidnapped by some bad guys at the public library today. He was with her on that time, but thankfully nothing happened to him, and we're just concerned about his safety. That's why I gave him a ride back."

The expression on Phil's face changed. He was relieved that his grandson was in good company, "That… horrible." He replied dolefully, referring to the kidnapping. "Hopefully you'll get their daughter back, and thanks for bringing my grandson back Officer." Officer Pudney nodded softly. She rubbed Arnold's hair and headed back to the squad car as Phil and Arnold looked at the car as it drove away. They looked at each other in relief, and walked into their house. In Arnold's mind, thoughts of Rhonda's kidnapping floated in his mind. He was worried about his friend's safety.

---

The phone rang.

Buckley's heart nearly stopped beating as the phone rang again and again, waiting for it to be answered. He turned his head to glance at the police officers at the recording device, and gave him a 'go' signal. He then turned to the tracker equipment, and they too gave a 'go' signal. He turned to his wife, gazing back at him sorrowfully and was in a very distressed state. Finally he looked at his friend, Detective Spade, and nodded at him. With his trembling arms, he slowly lifted the phone up and put it on his ear as he pushed the broadcast button on the phone so everyone in the room could hear the conversation.

"H-Hello?"

"DADDY!! DADDY!!!"

"Rhonda?! RHONDA!!" he got up and shouted through the phone in great concern of her daughter's safety. He felt a small relief inside his heart to know that his daughter, thankfully, is still alive. Brooke cried when she heard her daughter was crying for help. She was then consoled by a female police officer.

Rhonda's voice then got replaced by a garbled, synthesized, computerized voice that called him earlier, surely it was the kidnapper. "Hello, Mr. Lloyd. As you can hear, your daughter is in good company and I assure you, no harm will happen to her."

"What do you want you scum?" he said angrily through his clenched teeth, gripping the phone tightly as if he wanted to break it into pieces because was very furious at the kidnapper.

"Ah… straight to the point." He said joyfully, "I like that in a man. No use procrastinating, isn't it? No police, as I said before?"

Buckley scanned the room, didn't know what to answer the kidnapper. His wife gulped in dread. Detective Spade shook his head softly to him. Dreadfully, he replied, "No… there are no police."

"Good man. Well, hear me this: A ransom worth of $20 million dollars must be paid on this Monday, or, you won't see your daughter ever again." A soft, evil snicker was heard. Buckley became more furious.

"The denominations of the money as follow:" the kidnapper continued, "$5 million in fives, another $5 million in tens and $10 million in twenties." The kidnapper said, as other officers and detectives wrote down the demand on paper. "The drop will be at an alley marked with graffiti that says 'Freedom' adjacent to the Lucas Street, 12PM sharp. Again I reiterate: no police."

Buckley tried to calm himself up as he clenched his fist in anger, "Consider it done…"

"Good."

His parental instincts told that he should talk to his daughter before the conversation ends, "Please… can I speak to my—"

"Ah Mr. Lloyd, it seems that you have apparently lied to me." The kidnapper said coolly.

"What?" he replied softly in incredulity.

"Well, according to my scanners _somebody_ is trying to break through my phone. I wonder who it could be?" he faked a thought jovially, "I think someone owes me an explanation here because I know this address belongs to…" he added more. Buckley was getting even more restless.

"The cops. You called the cops, didn't you?"

"N-no, I… I-I didn't—" he tried to deny to accusation.

"Liar!" he shouted furiously, "You are asking for it Mr. Lloyd! The ransom is now doubled from my previous offer, with the same denominations! You're threading through dangerous waters here, Mr. Lloyd! Do you think I'm playing around _here_?! Are you _really_ willing to gamble your daughter's safety?! Failing to comply to any of my orders and I _swear_ I'll double the ransom money again and _again_ until you get my orders right! _Think _carefully before you do anything!" the kidnapper shouted angrily, and the line was abruptly cut off.

Stunned silence was the only expression shown in the room, as Buckley disbelievingly heard the engaged tone from the phone. He couldn't contain his fury and frustration any longer: he threw the receiver away from him and shoved the phone violently and fell to the floor. He got up from his chair and quickly he went to the nearest wall and banged it with his two, hard fists. The whole room felt silence once again as the policemen and women could only pity and sympathies him and his wife. Buckley felt weak on his legs, and he stopped pounding the wall he slid weakly down, weeping. His wife quickly came to him and consoled him.

* * *

Further revelations will be told on the next chapter, and who's behind the kidnapping all along. I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review (preferably constructive), or a flame (with reasons). 


	3. What Actually Happened

_Author's Note: _This chapter explains the reason and the motivations behind Rhonda's kidnapping, and why is Scheck is playing a major role in this story.

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 3: What Actually Happened

_Yesterday…_

"Mr. Scheck! Mr. Scheck! What are your plans to keep your company stay afloat?" one of the reporters in the crowd of media people yelled a question to Scheck as he hastily walked out from the courthouse to the waiting limousine at the end of the flight of stairs. Realizing that he couldn't get away that easily from those 'vultures' and it would be a good attempt to fix his public image, he stopped for a while to answer their questions.

"I assure you that despite the financial situation of the FTi Corporation, I will immediately call my board of directors to remedy this situation and I will do everything in my power not to make thousands of my employees go out of work." He said positively, and continued his way to the limo.

"Wait, Mr. Scheck!" another reporter interrupted him, "What kind of verdict would you expect the judge will give to you?"

He had a sudden urge to punch that person, but for the sake of his image, he had to cool down, and answered back calmly, "Like any other person, I'd like the judge to be fair, righteous and honest in delivering his verdict." He replied again, but yet another question halted him in his tracks.

"Do you have any comments at all regarding a certain monetary firm is trying to acquire your company?"

He was taken aback at that particular question since his financial advisors, board of directors and his legal team never told him that news before, and so the only reply he had to say was, "I have no further comments at this point." He intoned dully, and ignored all the questions those bunch of reporters bombarded him. He squeezed himself through the sea of people and finally managed to get into his limousine while being accompanied by his most trusted legal advisor. He slouched against the black leathered seat while stroking his forehead in an ill-attempt to heal his headache.

"Matt, to my house, please." He said to the chauffeur.

"Yes, sir." He replied, and he drove away from the courthouse.

"Things are looking pretty bleak for me, Tom…" he said depressively.

"You think, Al?" he replied back, as he opened up his suitcase, "don't forget you'll have to face the court again in the next two weeks against Big Bob's Beepers Inc." he reminded him as he read the papers on his hands.

"Oh, great… what does that buffoon wants now?"

"He filed an illegal takeover lawsuit against your company." he said, closing his suitcase.

He grumbled frustratingly, "Argh, it's like I'm being hit with a ton of bricks over and over again…"

"See, that'll happen if you didn't heed to any advises from your consultants. Why in blue blazes did you ignored us?! I've told you before, but you just _wouldn't_ listen! Didn't I tell you that your mall project of yours simply won't work? You have to consider the people who live in that place, the logistics, our financial backups, and the manpower to build that mall! And _why-the-heck_ didn't you tell me about that Government Document?!" he shouted angrily as he glared at him. A tense silence between them, and Tom continued again, "Don't let your revenge blind you from the law, Al…"

"Shut up…" he retorted back exasperatedly. "That place is my family's land, _my_ land, and those morons took it from me and act like they own the place!"

"The Tomato War is the past, Al. It's history. Instead why don't you look at the broader opportunities of the present world? There are a lot of other places we can invest into."

"I _won't_ let my pride go down the drains, Tom! You know me."

"It's _pride_ that makes all the most powerful people in history go down, Al. Napoleon, Alexander—"

"Enough with the history lessons, Tom! I'm in no mood of hearing that crap!" he shouted back, and Tom instantly went silent. Scheck slumped back to his seat and spoke weakly at him, "When the reporters came crashing to me, one of them asked that some company wants to take over mine. Why am I not informed about this?"

"What?" Tom asked back disbelievingly. "Oh, crap… the news must've leaked to the media. I've already told our Public Relations Department _not_ to reveal the news to the public!"

"Enough!" Scheck shouted back, "Just tell me which company wants to buy FTi." He demanded sternly.

Tom nodded nervously, and reopened his briefcase to reach for a document, "The company that wants to buy the FTi Corporation is called Lloyd's Monetary Firm and Associates—"

"Lloyd?" he asked with a harsh voice, "The same company who tried to lobby the City Hall to terminate my development plans?!"

"The very same." Tom replied back, "Apparently, one of the main reasons why they lobbied the bureaucrats in City Hall was actually a part of a request made by their CEO's daughter."

"What?!" he asked incredulously.

"Their CEO, Buckley Lloyd has a daughter who has lots of friends in that neighborhood you want to demolish, so I think that it must be a favor of some kind that his daughter made to her friends."

"This is ludicrous…" he said through his clenched teeth. "It's a sad day when a big shot CEO bows down to their kid's plea…"

"And, I don't know if you're ready to hear this or not but, Lloyd's legal advisors have already met my team some five days ago to discuss about the takeover."

"WHAT?!" Scheck exploded, "Who authorized the meeting? Why I am not informed about this?! I'm the CEO—"

"_Former_, CEO Al." he cut him off, "after your arrest, the board of directors has unanimously passed a motion that you've been relieved from your position as CEO." There was a pause and a silent. "You're no longer with the board of directors. I'm… really, really sorry, Al."

A disbelief stare was shot at Tom, and after a moment, Scheck said to him, "This is impossible… How could they do this me?" he pleaded for an answer, but Tom could only look at him back in sympathy. "That's _my_ company! I inherited it from my father! And _he_ inherited it from his! He worked it out from ground up! It's a bloodline company! How could they make such an abrupt decision regarding this without my supervision?!" he shouted furiously.

Tom sighed in frustration and replied, "I know you're going to be upset about this but they _have_ to make this decision, Al. It's the welfare of the employees we're talking about here." He answered weakly as Scheck listened to his explanation in dismay. "But don't worry. Even though you're not holding any positions in FTi the company is still yours. You still have the biggest share in the company, but it will end soon if Lloyd manages to get his hands on it."

"How does such a backwatered, unknown company could have that much of assets to take over my company, anyway?" he asked again, having his face drown in his hands.

"Actually, Lloyd's company is in the top twenty list of this city's wealthiest local company. And what I heard from their lawyers is that they're contemplating whether they should trade in Wall Street this year since they think have enough assets to be listed on it. And amazingly, they even have some small branches in México and Canada." Tom answered, and Scheck was lost on words to say anything back, in shock and disbelief.

"Have they made any bids yet?" Scheck finally spoke, after a long pause.

"Just five percent from the whole amount."

"Five percent?" he said quizzically, "How come?"

"Apparently, there's a catch." He explained. "After the Tomato War, and after the United States annexed this land from the British, they passed a law stating that anyone who shows interest in land acquirement must pay the land owner some five percent of the total worth first, and only _then_ he can buy the whole land in one week's time."

"What?" Scheck said, "That doesn't make any sense at all. What's that have to do with company takeovers?"

"They amended the law by replacing 'land' to 'conglomerate' in the early 1900's."

"Brilliant. Just brilliant." He scoffed. "Why was the law needed in the first place anyway?"

"Who knows? Maybe the farmers back then were too paranoid of their land being taken back by the British that they had to make that law so they could run a background check on the buyer. If they discovered that the buyer is a spy British, then they'll just reject the later payments and be happy with the five percent. Swindling, it's just that simple. Though, in this day and age, it's highly irrelevant, and the lawmakers of this city really want to abolish it."

Scheck sighed depressively, "Hmm… is there a way somehow to make him change his mind about taking over my company? Because you know well I'm not going out without a fight, and I'm surely won't give up my family business to some _idiot _who thinks he can walk into my place and steal this company from me."

"Well, if he failed to show us the money or didn't sign the contract, then he won't get the company, maybe ever. But I'm not recommending you to sabotage the finalization Al. It's very risqué. Think about your employees who left their families to work everyday, slaving in their small cubicles just to earn some cash for their family and keeping this company afloat. They're very valuable to us. I suggest that you just let Lloyd get a hold of your company, and after your release, I think I could persuade them to take you back and become one of the board of directors again."

"No." Scheck replied harshly. "It's my company, and I won't have anyone to take it from me. _No_ one."

"Then what do you propose? It's the only way from my point of view."

"From _your_ point. You said that this Buckley character has a daughter, didn't you?"

"Yeah, what about her?" Tom asked back.

Scheck smirked at him and said to his chauffeur, "Matt, please stop the vehicle." And after the limo stopped near a puddle of mud, Scheck got a hold of Tom by his shirt collar, opened the door up and threw him into mudpool. He then closed the door and the limo drove on. Covered in mud and was extremely displeased of him, Tom shouted to the car, "You're making a big mistake here Al! I know what you're thinking, and its madness! Madness I tell you!!"

A devilish looking grin was spreading across his face as he thought this sinister idea of trying to sabotage the payment. By kidnapping his daughter, Buckley would be too preoccupied of finding his daughter, thus making him unsuccessfully to sign the contract. And with the ransom money too, he wouldn't have enough money to pay the rest of the takeover bid. It was a foolproof plan, a perfect plan. Without hesitation, he grabbed his cellphone and contacted his friends in an underground momement to tell them about his plan.

* * *

How about it huh? I've always thought that Scheck is the ultimate evil in the Hey Arnold show, and this is one of the way I want to portray him how insane he is. Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review. And point to me mistakes and errror if you found one.  



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